Key murder witness executed
In what appears to be a hit, security guard Kenneth Kanhai called ‘Puri’ 56, of Gangaram Settlement, East Canje, Berbice, and formerly of Betsy Ground was found dead yesterday morning at Canefield Nursery School, East Canje, where he works as a security guard. He was lying in a pool of blood on a desk with what appears to be a gunshot wound to the forehead and another to the body.
Dead: Kenneth Kanhai called ‘Puri’
The school wasn’t broken into and nothing was missing or noticeably disturbed. Kanhai was attached to the Home Safe Security Service.
According to residents, sometime between 02:00 and 02:30hrs, they heard what sounded like gunshots. The residents said that the lights in the school would be usually off, but this was not the case.
It is understood that Kanhai would usually leave home around 17:00 hrs on his motorcycle and head for work about three miles away. The relative stated that he “would usually work two nights on and two nights off. He reached home just after six in the morning. But after he didn’t come around minutes to seven we start to inquire”.
Relatives in the area were contacted, but when they went to the school they found the gate locked. In the meantime, persons were turning up at the school with their children. The lock on the gate was broken, while some neighbours jumped the fence and peeped into the school where they made the gruesome discovery at about 07:10hrs. The police were contacted and responded promptly. Other relevant officials were also contacted. Two spent shells were found at the scene.
According to information, the school has no hut and the security guards would usually go inside the building, since they were given a key by the head teacher of the school. According to Kanhai’s brother, who reportedly also works at the school as a guard, they would open the padlock and go inside the building and then open the back door and come around and lock the padlock and go back inside from the back and stay inside.
Rohan Kanhai stated that he was on his way home when he got the shocking news. He immediately made his way to the school.When he got there he saw a large crowd and noticed his brother lying on a table. There was blood and what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his forehead and another wound on his body. The police were at the time conducting investigations.
Four men and a woman have been arrested and are in custody assisting with the investigations.
The dead man’s wife Jagwantie Jidayal called ‘Mini’, a weeder at the Rose Hall Estate, stated that she was in Georgetown when she got the devastating news of her husband’s death.
“The news was shocking,” the woman stated. She told this publication that she had left to go to the city for a relative’s birthday. The woman related that due to the out-of-crop period, it isn’t compulsory to work on a regular basis.
She had left home on Saturday and decided to stay on a little bit for a vacation. ”We hadn’t any problem and I talk to him on Wednesday. He was okay and sound pleasant. He was a good person. We married for 35 years and hardly had problems. We have one child who live overseas.” Another child died by drowning some years ago.
The body of the security guard was found in the Canefield Nursery School, East Canje yesterday morning.
Kanhai was expected to be a key witness in an upcoming murder trial in the High Court. He was previously charged with knowing that Ramdhanie Persaud called ‘Prakash’ or ‘Prak’ murdered his reputed Bibi Shameena Deen at Canefield East Canje. That he received, comforted, harboured, assisted and mentored the said Persaud.
The police had stated that acting on information they had found the accused on a farm at Bess Cut, New Forest, East Canje, Berbice, where they had also found one .38 Special Revolver, 23-16 gauge cartridges and seven live 12 gauge cartridges. Kanhai was arrested and charged. The weapon was tested and showed that it was used to kill Deen. Kanhai had told investigators that Persaud had hid the weapon there. He was also charged with possession of arms and ammunition without licence, and accessory after the fact to wit, he assisted a murder accused after he had committed the capital offence. He was subsequently freed.
Persaud was committed to stand trial in the High Court and the matter was scheduled to come up shortly.
Kanhai previously worked with the Regional Administration as a security guard at a pump station at New Forest, in the East Canje District. He began working at the school in October 2013 after he was released from prison.
Investigations are continuing.